A couple of weeks ago someone asked for help with a lease agreement that didn't mention the $7500 Federal tax credit being applied as a CCR, just a few thousand in Nissan CCR. I and others responded that the particular dealership in question was being very crooked, and to find another one. Well, it's starting to look like NMAC and Nissan dealers have agreed among themselves to keep the credit, and instead offer a few thousand dollars in "lease cash." Shades of GM! The NMAC site still mentioned the credit a couple of days ago, but when I checked again this morning, after looking at local 2018 Leaf listings, that was gone. It looks like some Leaf S offers still contain the $7500, but the rest now mention $3100 to $5300 (including military and college credits that have been offered before, on top of the $7500) in "lease cash."

The S appears to now be the only Leaf that gets the full $7500 rebate passed on as a CCR. The SV and SL typically have $3100 in Nissan "lease cash."

It seems that, after crowing that the 2018 Leaf was going to be sold for the same MSRP as the Gen I Leaf, Nissan has decided to slip in a 'back door price increase' by pocketing most of the Federal tax credit for the SV and SL. Depending on what happens to actual out the door lease costs, this may be the last straw for me. I can still lease a 2017 Bolt with a much better battery...

I think that NMAC is raising the residual, also a la GM, to keep the payments from going up, while raising the total cost of owning the car for those planning to buy. The SL residual is now about $16k.

LeftieBiker wrote:The S appears to now be the only Leaf that gets the full $7500 rebate passed on as a CCR. The SV and SL typically have $3100 in Nissan "lease cash."

This is what I thought was being offered after talking to a dealer and looking at the Nissan website. I'm very concerned about buying this car with no TMS and the well documented poor life of the 30KWH battery. Do we know how well the Bolt battery is holding up? Do they even have any capacity display?

I may be buying soon and Nissan is pushing me toward buying a Bolt with they're poor lease deals.

There is a significant battery recall on some 2017 Bolts, and the early packs seem to have had a design issue that resulted in a new design for late 2017s and 2018s. There are no other signs of pack problems of which I'm aware. I'm going to lease a 2018 Leaf anyway, but I'm not happy, and if I knew that residual discounts would be offered on the Bolt (they likely will be on the Leaf) I'd be negotiating for a Bolt, instead. It looks like what the Bolt needs to make it more Leaf-like are seats with better padding (this can be done DIY) or possibly aftermarket seats, and shocks with variable or adjustable damping that is more ride-oriented and less performance oriented.

I think it's pretty unfortunate that with four+ EV offerings in this class, and two more coming, it still doesn't like like there is one great choice for someone not seeking an EV "Hot Hatch."